NEWS
UoB Shares the Experience of Nursing Students Volunteering in Response to the Pandemic
On International Nurses Day & in the Presence of More than 160 Professors
UoB Shares the Experience of Nursing Students Volunteering in Response to the Pandemic
The Head of the Nursing Department at the College of Health and Sports Sciences (CHSS) at the University of Bahrain (UoB), Dr. Lina Mohammed Khenji, shared the experiences of nursing students who volunteered to work with the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
Dr. Khenji pointed to the role of volunteering in the front lines of the medical and nursing staff, and the active role of male and female nursing students in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
This came during the participation of the Head of the Nursing Department in the “Global Forum”, organized by the Nursing Department at CHSS at UoB, entitled: Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare “, on the occasion of International Nurses Day 2021.
In a session entitled “The Art of Giving” with the presence of about 165 professors of nursing sciences from various countries, Dr. Khenji spoke about the success of the students experience through which nursing students provided all types of nursing and health care for patients during the Corona pandemic, explaining to how successful the participation of UoB nursing students in volunteer work during the Corona pandemic was, in response to the call of the country, and the needs of the Ministry of Health in the Kingdom of Bahrain for Bahraini arms to tackle the pandemic.
Dr. Khenji shared the experiences of the students of the Bachelor’s in Nursing program, who expressed their willingness to volunteer since the beginning of the pandemic, and spoke about the lessons learned from this experience, and how the students faced challenges of coordinating their tasks and duties as undergraduate students. The field volunteer experience of the students was highly interactive and praised by the participants, as they were proud of this experience.
The specialists, who participated from several countries through cyberspace, discussed emerging topics imposed by the Corona pandemic (Covid-19), the most important of which are: the role of the nursing sector and the importance of innovation in providing better health care, and the disruption of some health care systems in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, as Professor Virginia Plumer from Monash University in Australia discussed the importance of considering health care from a different perspective, as nursing staff have proven that they are able to overcome difficulties, and were different from all other medical specialties in their ability to work and persist for long hours to patiently and responsibly provide the necessary care during the Corona pandemic.
While the President of the International Nursing Association in America, Prof. Rita Gallagher, spoke about governance, highlighting the role of nursing and engaging in the governance of its institutions, and she stressed the importance of the nursing sector’s contribution to decision-making leading to achieving the sustainable development goals.
Also, Assistant Professor at King Saud University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Muneera Al-Balushi, discussed the importance of motivating workers in the nursing sector, and giving them the opportunity to lead to achieve positive results that contribute to improving the quality of health care, especially in light of the Corona pandemic.
Moreover, Prof. Neamat Mohammed from the Arab Republic of Egypt believed that creativity and dedication in providing nursing care will improve the quality of health care outputs.
On her part, the President of the International Nursing Association in the United States, Miriam Chickering, believed that the turmoil in health care systems during the Corona pandemic had a positive impact on the performance of nursing care, and demonstrated the effective role of the health sector in society.
And to honor the contributions of nurses to the international health community, the world celebrates the International Nurses Day every year on May 12th.
